|
City unites to remember holocaust victims
ON Friday 27 January Liverpool to
remembered those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis. A special
service was helded in Liverpool to mark national Holocaust Memorial
Day.
Members of the Jewish community, faith leaders, the Lord Mayors of
Merseyside, civic guests, school children and members of the public
united in prayer at the ceremony in St. Johns Gardens.
The Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Alan Dean, and Rabbi Cofnas,
senior rabbi in Merseyside's Jewish community, layed wreaths at the
memorial stone. The rest of the congregation layed white roses or
plant stars and crosses in memory of all those who lost their lives
during the Holocaust and acts of genocide.
Councillor Dean said:- "This Memorial service is a very
poignant and moving ceremony which gives us the opportunity to
promote understanding and awareness about the Holocaust.
Liverpool people of all faiths and communities are uniting as one at
this special ceremony, to remember the victims of the Holocaust and
of acts of genocide.
This city has vowed to always remember those who suffered and died
during this atrocity, and ensure that future generations never
forget this dark time in history."
After the service, guests move to the North Entrance Hall at St.
George's Hall where students from King David High School light
candles.
The event marked the 61st anniversary of the liberation of Nazi
extermination camp, Auschwitz. It was part of the city's commitment
to ensure the horrors of the Holocaust are never forgotten, and that
we learn the lessons of history.
Liverpool people can still log on to a special website to post their
thoughts and feelings about the Holocaust and they can also sign a
Book of Commitment in the foyer at Liverpool Town Hall. A lit candle
is being kept next to the book as a symbol of hope.
Hundreds of people have already logged-on to show their commitment.
To access the online site, go to
this web page.
 |
Give the farmers their money now or pay them interest for your
bungling, MEP tells Beckett
FARMERS have
waited a year, now they must wait another six months to receive
Single Farm Payments Brussels, 25 January 2006. Now English farmers
who have already waited over a year for their Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP) payments may well not receive their payments until the
final legal deadline of 30th June, even though Welsh and Scottish
farmers received their funds before Christmas, Sir Robert Atkins,
Conservative MEP in the European Parliament, said today after
Margaret Beckett spoke on the issue in the Parliament's agriculture
committee.
Farmers had originally been promised a payment date of February,
which would already constitute a year-long wait for their money -
but the Secretary of State refused to say when her department would
finally give farmers their dues.
The single farm payment is vital to the survival of many British
farmers but the Rural Payments Agency has so far been unable to cope
with a regional payments structure that DEFRA chose to administer
the reformed CAP regime.
The single farm payment in England this year will be paid partly on
an historic basis (by taking account of the number of sheep, cattle
or the area of crops grown) and partly on the type of land the
farmer has on his or her holding. This system of payment was
entirely created by the British government.
The Rural Payments Agency has earned a reputation for not paying
farmers their dues on time but its inability to cope with the
excessively bureaucratic methodology set by DEFRA is its worst
failing yet. Sir Robert has said that at best, farmers have been
severely disadvantaged and at worst, they will go out of business.
He is demanding Mrs Beckett publicly apologises to farmers and that
DEFRA pays interest to English farmers for failing to get payments
to them within a reasonable time.
He said:- "The British government has failed English farmers
once again. Scotland, Wales and other countries in the EU have
managed to pay farmers their dues with only a reasonable delay so
why must British farmers find themselves once again facing
bankruptcy because the government is failing to fulfil a simple
responsibility?
English farmers
have been waiting a year for these payments and now they are being
told to wait another five months. How many of them will go bust in
the meantime?
If any farmer were late in paying taxes, he would soon receive a
reprimand from the government and have to pay interest on the money
owed yet the Minister's reaction to me today was indignant.
The Minister should apologise immediately to all farmers and DEFRA
are morally obliged to pay interest on the money owed to farmers due
to their incompetence The new payments system the UK has
brought in is overtly bureaucratic and should be reviewed
immediately. It seems to have been deliberately designed so that
farmers don't understand it but now even the officials that created
the monster are unable to get their heads around how it functions."
|
